A Birthday to Remember
by ScarletBelle87
Summary: It's Seto Kaiba's birthday which means Domino's hoard of fangirls have blockaded his home and office. Trying to get a little peace, an aggravated Kaiba seeks solace at your coffee shop but once the fangirls find him, it is up to you to offer him refuge. Trapped together, will you be able to avoid your past? KaibaxOC one-shot


**A/N Since today is Kaiba's birthday, I thought it would be a good idea to celebrate with a little one-shot. I have written two versions of this story, a reader-insert on AO3 and a first person POV to post here. There are differences between them but the plot is the same.**

**Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy :)**

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**A Birthday to Remember **

The sky was dark outside and I leaned on the counter with my head propped up on my hand. The scent of coffee hung thick in the air. The light shone off the metallic tables, only one was occupied. I had already cleaned all the others while I waited for the minutes to tick down after a long day.

I was about to switch off the large coffee machine and begin the nightly routine of cleaning it before locking up, when I spotted the handsome brunette that was known in all of Domino.

Seto Kaiba strode purposefully towards the small coffee shop, his long blue coat billowing slightly behind him as he walked. He pushed open the glass door with what could only be described as aggravation and settled himself in one of the freshly cleaned booths.

I did not bother telling him that the kitchen was closed, I could only imagine the day he must have had. Being in a generous mood, I prepared a large cappuccino with an extra shot, even taking more care than usual in making the rosetta.

I took the to-go cup to the booth that he was seated at, placing it beside his laptop.

"Happy birthday, Mr President," I said in a saccharine tone. "It's on the house." His eyes snapped to mine with unconcealed loathing before recognition passed over his face.

"What are you doing here?" He frowned.

I had to laugh. "Come on Kaiba, how unobservant can you be? I've been making you your coffee for the past week." A huff was all the response I got but he did reach for the coffee, taking a small sip. I took the seat opposite him in the hope that he would be willing to make conversation.

"Why are you working here?" he asked without taking his gaze off the screen.

"I own the place. Well technically I own fifty percent of this place," I explained. When it seemed like he would not say anything I felt the need to explain further. "I'm a pretty good baker and I needed to find a way to pay tuition so a friend and I came up with this place. He is the financial backer and has the business know how and I deal with the everyday stuff."

"You never said you were in business," Kaiba accused.

"You never asked," I retorted. "And that's saying something. It's been years since Battle City."

"You haven't had it that long," he said flatly as he spun his computer around to show me the website. The cafe had only recently celebrated its first birthday.

"My point is that we've known each other a long time and you still didn't know this," I said playfully.

"Maybe I would know if you didn't hang out with the dweeb patrol so much," he smirked.

"You're such an ass." I laughed. "Where's Mokuba?"

"At home. I didn't need him around with all this madness today." His fingers flew across the keyboard as he answered through gritted teeth.

"That bad huh? I was going to ask you how your birthday's been but I don't want to die young." The last of the customers had finished up and I watched them as they left. Tanabe, the only other person who worked that day, immediately began wiping down the table, leaving me to continue talking to Kaiba.

"Why are you so cheerful today?" Kaiba growled, fixing you with a stare.

"When am I not? There's no point complaining Kaiba. Fix your shit and move on." I shrugged.

"Glad to see you haven't changed," he smiled.

I gasped dramatically. "Kaiba, did you just say something nice to me?" He rolled his eyes and continued working. "Anyway, I need to start shutting down. Stay as long as you like," I said to him as I vacated the seat. There was a sudden movement outside on the lit street which caught my eye and in that moment I silently cursed myself for wanting such a large glass storefront. It seemed like a good idea at the time. "Shit!" I said under my breath.

"What is it?" Kaiba asked irritably.

"I think you should come with me. Tanabe, flip the sign and lock the door now. Lights off!" He obeyed the instruction as we all saw the hoard of fangirls run towards the shop. "Go now, out the back. Let me know that you've got out safely. Kaiba, follow me."

I was surprised that he listened to me at all. We ran up the stairs around the back, up to my small apartment above the cafe. The keys jangled in the lock as I opened up allowing Kaiba to enter first. Immediately, I locked the door behind me. The last thing I needed was the crazies to get in. My phone buzzed and upon pulling it out of my pocket, I saw that Tanabe had messaged.

"_Place is locked. Got out fine. Girls at the back too."_

"Great," I huffed, showing the phone to Kaiba. "Yugi's birthday never got this crazy. Um, I guess you can work at the table or the couch, whichever suits you better. I'm just going to get out of my work clothes." I switched on the coffee pot thinking we could both use the caffeine buzz, and closed the door to my room. I overheard Kaiba talking to someone and after eavesdropping I realized he was on the phone to Mokuba. It seemed like people were camped out there as well. I heard him say what a nightmare Kaiba Corp. was and man was I glad that Mokuba was safely ensconced in the mansion. I quickly pulled on my favourite yoga pants and a slouchy t-shirt. They were old, but they were comfy. I picked up my laptop and textbook and placed them on the kitchen table, then poured two cups of strong black coffee, handing one to Kaiba before I sat opposite him.

I felt bad that he was holed up with me because of a group of crazy fans. I didn't want him to feel trapped but I offered the only real alternative at the time.

"I'm sorry you're spending your birthday here. I'm sure you'd rather be with Mokuba," I said to him.

"That's life," he replied in an off-handed manner. I took a small sip of coffee while the laptop booted up and opened the textbook.

"It's been a while since we sat like this." I smiled as I paged through the book but he didn't respond.

We worked in silence but I often felt his gaze on me.

I sighed. "Just spit it out."

"Who's your partner?"

"For the cafe? Duke." I looked at him and could see his mind working. He had stopped typing and focussed entirely on me. I was apprehensive about where this line of questioning might go.

"Are you seeing him?" he asked flatly. And there it was.

"No! He's just a friend. I'm not seeing anyone." I frowned. "Kaiba you were the one who said we couldn't be together."

"I couldn't be with you then."

"And I've never held it against you and I've never brought it up whenever I saw you since Battle City. I understood. I kept my distance." I felt confused and even though I didn't mean to, I could hear my voice rise a little higher as I spoke. I did understand. He was so angry back then, it would never have worked.

"Maybe I didn't want you to." His eyes were intense under the dim lighting of the apartment.

"I find that hard to believe. You pushed everyone away." My heart was beating loudly in my ears.

"It doesn't mean you weren't special to me," he said evenly. The tone of his voice frustrating. "And you were… are special to me. You were my first," I shot at him.

"And you were mine."

"So what is this? What do you want?" I asked, snapping the lid of my laptop down.

"I want to know if you still feel anything for me?"

I stepped away from the table shaking my head. I needed space. Looking down through the large window at the street below, I could see where the girls stood. Sure the crowd had thinned quite a bit but there were still a few stragglers.

I felt him step up behind me and upon turning around I knew he was just trying to prevent me from retreating away from him.

"You haven't answered," he said lowly. I didn't know what to say. I couldn't lie to him but getting over him the first time was hard enough, even if there were no hard feelings. Still, it was hard to forget that electricity.

"I will always feel something for you Kaiba. Always. It's just that getting over you the first time was hard enough." I looked at the floor, seeing his face would be my undoing. "Why are you bringing this up now? It's the first time we've spent any time together in ages and would you be saying any of this if you weren't stuck here with me? You didn't even know that you were buying coffee from my cafe for heaven's sake!"

"I did know."

"What?" I snapped irritably.

"I knew it was yours. I've been going there for months. I stopped paying attention to who served me my coffee because you were never there." My jaw dropped. I went through what he said earlier in my head. Was he testing me? What he said was true. Usually I would be at lectures when he would have come through, but the cafe was short staffed over the last week. His voice was guarded but I was rooted to the spot. I could think of no response making him chuckle. "What? No witty comeback?"

I shook my head. For once, I had nothing. My brain finally engaged and taking his hand, I led him to the small loveseat.

"Then why did you ask about Duke?"

"I wanted to see you respond," he said simply. I fell silent. Kaiba was impossible. I needed a moment to gather my scattered thoughts.

"Why didn't you say anything sooner?" I finally asked.

"I wasn't certain that it was a good idea."

"But if you've been coming to the cafe hoping to see me it means you wanted something to happen. Were you testing the waters? I mean wha…" I trailed off. I had no words to finish my thought. I picked at my nail as I spoke to him. He had pulled the rug out from under me tonight and it was difficult gaining back my balance.

"Yes. Like you said, Battle City was a long time ago. I guess there's one way to know if there is anything there." He grasped my chin, gently turning my face to him and staring into my eyes, he slowly leaned down pressing his lips to mine. The electricity I remembered was back, sparked by his searing kiss. My breath caught in my throat, walls I held up crumbled around me as I melted against him. Driven by instinct, I wrapped my arms around his neck kissing him back passionately. He pulled me onto his lap so that I was astride him, his hands slipping under my shirt.

"No!" I thought. This is exactly what happened the last time.

I broke away. "Kaiba stop." His hands froze in place. "Just wait. We're jumping into this again. We haven't decided anything." I tried to move off him but he pulled his hands out from under my shirt and held me in place.

"I want you," he said intensely.

"What's different this time?" I asked.

"I am." He was telling the truth. I could see it, but it was a scary leap to take. "Let me ask you something."

"Shoot." I shrugged. At this point, nothing could make this night any weirder.

"Have you seen anyone since me?" His eyes were boring holes into mine.

"One person," I answered uneasily.

"And?" he pressed.

"And it felt tepid. It was nothing like being with you. Is that what you want to hear?" I fired at him.

"Yes. You know you want _this_," he said lowly. I closed my eyes, sighing heavily. I did want it, I never stopped wanting it but I had moved on.

I huffed out a laugh. "You're very persuasive, you know that?"

"I do." He tucked a lock of hair behind my ear and it made my heart flutter. "Did you ever tell the others about us?"

"I think they guessed something went on but no, I never did," I said truthfully.

"Why?"

"I didn't think you would have wanted me to." I searched his eyes for a response. I could see his mind work. I'm sure that he was relieved. I could see a flurry of emotions cross his face but he seemed… upset?

"Why are you reluctant?" he asked me. His mask was back in place like it always was whenever he ignored his inner thoughts.

"I don't want to be hurt," I admitted.

He cradled my face in his large hands and I couldn't help but lean into his touch. "Mia, I would never hurt you." I loved the way my name sounded when he said it.

I held onto his hands and leaned my forehead against his. I had to admit, it felt good being with him again. I kissed his lips lightly and hugged him tight. I could feel his arms wrap around me and I felt safe. His familiar scent was comforting and there was something truly believable about his words. He placed tender kisses on my neck and I knew then what my decision would be.

"I hate that someone else got to touch you. You should have always been mine," he said gruffly in my ear. I could hear his regret.

"I am now." I barely got the words out before he crushed his lips to mine. I had never been kissed like this. He had never kissed me like this. His fingers were tangled in my hair, every movement of his lips sent a jolt of ecstasy through me. We were ensnared in a sensuous connection that trapped our souls together. There were no words in any language to describe the mix of elation and passion. The air around us crackled but it felt like there was no air at all. My heart beat frantically. A beat that thundered all around us. His soft lips slowed as he tried to pull away but I refused to break the connection, following his lips with my own. I could feel his smile.

"You missed me." He was completely smug.

"Of course I did you idiot." My voice was breathy and in that moment it felt like if he was holding back at all, he let it all go. A moan escaped me as his lips sucked on my neck, beneath me, I felt him respond to the sound. I ground my hips into him and felt his fingers dig into my sides. I was proud that I could still affect him like this.

Effortlessly, he picked me up and took me to the bedroom where he hurriedly peeled off my clothes. He was impatient, but I took my time in removing each of his layers. Torturing him by slowly undoing the buttons on his shirt. He was a lot more muscular than I remembered him to be. Slowly, I ran my fingers down his chest and over his rippling abdomen, relishing the feel of his skin. He growled as I slipped them into his pants. Hazarding a look at his face, I saw that his eyes were tightly shut. Smirking, I trailed kisses down his body as I rid him of his remaining layers. I could tell that he was holding his breath.

"No," he said as I kneeled before him. He pulled me up and lay me on the bed. "Not yet." His voice was strained.

I was a little put out but he kissed me tenderly, I suppose he hoped it would take the sting out of his rejection. He was different this time. It was as if he paid attention to every detail of my body, every response, every touch. He ran his fingers along my sides, watching the goosebumps his touch created. Even though he was different, Kaiba was still just as gentle, hungry and dominant as I remembered. Everything about him was arousing. Being this intimate with him again stirred up all my dormant feelings. I fell for him quickly then and my heart felt like there was never any time lost between then and now.

He smiled. Finally he seemed truly happy and it made my heart soar.

"Happy birthday, Seto," I said softly.


End file.
